Sourced from Daily Mail article
Southampton have sacked Claude Puel… why have they got rid of him?
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Southampton have become the latest Premier League club this summer to be looking for a new manager after sacking Claude Puel.
From the outside, Puel would appear to be harshly treated - he led the Saints to eighth in the Premier League and the EFL Cup final - however many Southampton fans had grown tired of his negative style of play.
Here, Sportsmail examines the reason why Southampton got rid of Puel, and what the future holds for the club…
Southampton finished eighth and reached a domestic Cup final, so why has Claude Puel been sacked?
Concerns endured all season long over the team’s lack of goals, particularly at home, and over the connection that the French coach had with both key players and the club’s supporters.
Southampton ended the season having failed to score in six of their final seven games, including blanks against Stoke and Hull at home. Indeed, Southampton scored only 17 goals in 19 home games all season.
While it is true that Southampton finished eighth, Puel’s team were 15 points behind seventh placed Everton and just six points clear of 17th placed Watford.
Does Puel have grounds for complaint?
There is certainly a case. He lost key players Sadio Mane and Vincent Wanyama last summer and then his captain Jose Fonte to West Ham in January.
Amid all that, centre-back Virgil Van Dijk suffered a long term injury in January that saw him miss the remainder of the season.
When you factor in the strain of both the EFL Cup and a reasonable effort in the Europa League - Southampton beat Inter Milan in the group stages - it is hard to argue that Puel failed this season.
He also brought enhanced performances from Oriol Romeu, the central midfielder who experienced the best season of his career, while young Jack Stephens impressed in the second-half of the campaign and striker Manolo Gabbiadini had an instant impact.
Why did Southampton take so long to make a decision?
Executive director Les Reed has led a three-week post-season review. It may seem a slightly unfair call but Southampton, who have lost talented managers in Mauricio Pochettino and a host of their best players in recent times yet continued to thrive, have earned the right to be trusted.
Upon joining, Puel was challenged to repeat and improve upon Southampton’s sixth placed finish from last season. On that count, he did not succeed and the low number of points led the board to feel a new direction would be required.
It did not help that some players felt stifled by a very patient possession game, with Dusan Tadic in particular craving more excitement in Southampton’s play. Tadic was also exasperated by how often he had been substituted by his manager.
Fonte, meanwhile, had disagreements with Puel over his rotation before leaving in January as the captain was often omitted from Europa League starting line-ups.
Who could be in the frame to replace Puel?
Former Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel has ruled himself out while former Southampton player Garry Monk has now moved to Middlesbrough.
Former Ajax coach Frank De Boer and Hoffenheim’s Julian Nagelsmann are contenders, while Southampton could compete with Crystal Palace for Mauricio Pellegrino.
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